An IASH Work-in-Progress seminar, delivered by Professor Uğur Üngör (IASH-SSPS Research Fellowship 2021; University of Amsterdam and the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust, and Genocide Studies):
‘Behind the Sun’: The Logic and Forms of Violence in Syrian Prisons
Abstract:
Out of a pre-war Syrian population of 24 million, at some point during the ongoing conflict there were about 250,000 Syrians detained in its many prisons, a percentage of the population (1%) that dwarfs that of many other authoritarian regimes. Imprisonment may well be a defining characteristic of postcolonial Syrian history, and its widespread violence under especially the Assad regime since 1970 has made a profound impact on Syrian society. Yet due to the strict secrecy, censorship, and terror surrounding prisons, as well as the ‘conspiracy of silence’ between perpetrators and victims, Syrian prisons have not been examined systematically. This paper offers an examination of Syria’s prison system, using a combination of sources and methods, including published sources such as memoirs, social media data, and oral history interviews. The paper looks into the structure and functioning of arrest and detention, the identities of the perpetrators, and the experiences of the survivors.
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://ed-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/81322391722
Passcode: Vr8f3ew2